Hôtel de Soissons
France · Europe
About
The Hôtel de Soissons (French pronunciation: [otɛl də swasɔ̃]) was a hôtel particulier (grand house) built in Paris, France, between 1574 and 1584 for Catherine de' Medici (1519–89) by the architect Jean Bullant (1515–78).
It replaced a series of earlier buildings on the same site. After Catherine's death the hotel was enlarged and embellished. The last owner, Victor Amadeus I, Prince of Carignano, installed the Paris Bourse in the gardens, He was forced to sell it in 1740 to pay his debts. It was demolished in 1748 and the materials sold. A corn exchange was built on the site, later replaced by the present Bourse de commerce. A column, thought to have been used for astrological observations, is all that remains.
Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.